Thermal response of a field emitter subjected to ultra-fast laser illumination

Using an ultra-fast laser assisted atom probe, the temporal evolution of the temperature of a tungsten field emitter subjected to illumination is studied. The combination of pump probe experiments and evaporation rate measurements is used to estimate the duration of field evaporation, the induced peak temperature and the cooling time. The main conclusion of the measurements is that, despite a significant heating of the tip by the laser pulse, the cooling time is anomalously fast, below 0.5 ns. Hence, thermal effects are considered to play a major role in ion emission in contrast to conclusions of our previous works. It is shown that the really fast anomalous cooling rate can only be related to a confined heating zone at the tip apex smaller than the wavelength of the laser.